Editor Interview: Sweet Lit

poems, cnf, comics

We are long-standing fans of Brevity, and also love Terrain, One, The Rumpus; and we love the wonderful new online magazines popping up that reach out to diverse writers in and outside of academia, like Thimble and They Call Us.

You'll get different favorite writers from each editor, but some favorites include Sandra Lambert, Maggie Smith, Anne Panning, Jarod Rosello, Oliver de la Paz, and Peter Grandbois, all of whom have appeared in Sweet over the years.

This question is too hard--there are so many wonderful magazines out there! We do try to cultivate and emphasize community, particularly through our Sweet Connections feature, which posts brief interviews with former contributors. And we post Fan Mail, which are book reviews in the form of letters, directly addressed to the authors.

Work on your craft not to be clever or to sound like others, but because attention to craft (metaphor, fresh language, pacing, dialogue, evocative detail) helps you express what's difficult or complex or mysterious, helps you discover and convey insight into the human condition.

Sometimes we get only one poem or more than five in a submission. A single poem is not "wrong," but it's almost always sent in by someone who is closer to the beginning of their writing career. More than five poems often means the submission doesn't get read at all.

We don't particularly care about cover letters, though I have appreciated a writer mentioning one piece they read and liked in our magazine. With all our old issues available to read for free, it's easy to do, and it's also a good check for the writer in deciding whether or not to submit to us. Do you really like something we've published? Then your work might be in our wheelhouse.

We nominate for the Pushcart and for Best of the Net, and we're part of Creative Nonfiction's "Sunday Shorts" program.